Santa Monica Daily Press, January 31, 2009

Page 1

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JANUARY 31-FEBRUARY 1, 2009

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Volume 7 Issue 75

Santa Monica Daily Press FEELING FLUSH? SEE PAGE 4

Since 2001: A news odyssey

THE NEW TITLE ISSUE

Super goes from interim to permanent BY MELODY HANATANI Daily Press Staff Writer

court, Samohi lost 68-69 in overtime. Just two days later, the Vikings traveled to Inglewood High hoping to win its first league game.

SMMUSD HDQTRS Tim Cuneo, a former education consultant who arrived here last summer to take over a district that had gone through a series of major personnel changes and challenges, is expected to be named the next superintendent. The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District announced on Friday that the Board of Education will name Cuneo, who is currently serving as the interim superintendent, as the permanent chief. The appointment is expected to occur at the board meeting on Feb. 5. The board was in the process of reviewing proposals from different firms to head the superintendent search when it decided to hire Cuneo to ensure consistency in leadership. His time for the past several months has been occupied with a number of pressing issues, including revamping the troubled special education department and addressing the state budget crisis, which is expected to impact funds locally. “Tim has done great work while he’s been here,” board President Ralph Mechur said. “He’s helped stabilize leadership in the district.” Cuneo, who served as the senior partner with Cuneo Zinner Group in San Jose (wife Jane Zinner is a partner) before coming to SMMUSD, said he accepted the interim position assuming that he would only remain for a year to help the district in a transition period. He was hired in July to replace former Superintendent Dianne Talarico who resigned after serving less than two years to be closer to her husband in Northern California, taking on the same job with the Burlingame School District. The terms of the contract, which will end in July 2011, have yet to be finalized. When he was initially hired as the interim superintendent, Cuneo was earning $900 a day. “I have to admit that I really enjoyed the

SEE HOOPS PAGE 10

SEE DISTRICT PAGE 13

Byron Kennerly news@smdp.com

SEEING SIGNS: An electronic billboard is located just outside the city limits at Bundy Drive and Olympic Boulevard. There is a battle to ban the billboards in Los Angeles because they allegedly distract drivers and are aesthetically displeasing. Santa Monica has already banned them.

Billboards get held in check BY ASHLEY ARCHIBALD Special to the Daily Press

CITYWIDE As the debate on billboards in Los Angeles drags on, activists are using Santa Monica as the shining star of municipal sign policy. Los Angeles stemmed a growing flood of visual clutter in 2002 when the City

Council passed a billboard moratorium, banning the construction of new billboards. It was immediately attacked by billboard interests and vetted by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals this year. Santa Monica, however, never let it become a problem. That’s because in 1985, the Santa Monica City Council underwent a drastic

change in sign policy. Not only did it ban all billboards, it heavily regulated the size, location and type of signage that could be seen in the city. Any billboards — defined as free-standing, off-premise signs — that still stand predated the 1985 code. Not only do signs have to be attached to SEE SIGNS PAGE 11

Samohi boys basketball squad hopes to bounce back from slow start BY DANIEL ARCHULETA Managing Editor

SAMOHI Santa Monica High School boys basketball coach James Hecht is searching for answers.

His Vikings were 13-2 entering Ocean League play and ranked in the top 20 in the state by MaxPreps. Big things were in the offing. That’s when Morningside High School came to town. Instead of a win on its own

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